Terry Malone is in his seventh season coaching tight ends for the New Orleans Saints. In addition to discussing the team's turnaround, the Holy Cross grad also weighed in on a couple of the game's most intriguing players — albeit for different reasons.

The Saints play in the NFC South, which is also home to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. So he has gotten a good look twice a season for the past four years at cornerback Aqib Talib, whom the Patriots acquired in a trade Nov. 1.

Talib is expected to make his New England debut today when the Patriots face the Indianapolis Colts at Gillette Stadium. The delay was due to his having to serve the remainder of a four-game sentence for violating the league's substance-abuse policy.

“He's an outstanding football player,” Malone said Friday. “He's physical, he's got ball skills, he can make plays. He's got a tremendous amount of God-given talent.”

That's why the Bucs used the 20th overall pick in the 2008 draft on the unanimous All-America selection from Kansas. But there always has been an “if” when it comes to Talib.

“If he can make the right decisions, if he buys into what the Patriots are selling,” Malone said, citing the same unknown variables as everyone else when trying to figure out how this is going to play out.

“And they're certainly one of the five or six programs in the NFL that you look at and say, 'Hey, if a guy can make it, this is the type of program he should be in,' because he's going to have leadership, he's going to have structure. If he buys into it, he can be just as good as anybody.”

Then there's one of his tight ends, Jimmy Graham.

The All-Pro is 6-foot-7 and 265 pounds, meaning he has the size of Rob Gronkowski. He can also can line up outside and is lethal down the seam, meaning he's got some Aaron Hernandez in him.

That's a good combo.

Graham caught 99 passes for 1,310 yards last season, briefly holding the league record for most yards by a tight end until Gronkowski surpassed him by 17 yards. He has been just as productive this year with 45 receptions for 533 yards and seven touchdowns.

The Saints drafted Graham in the third round in 2009 after he played one season of college football at Miami. He had previously spent his time playing for the Hurricanes' basketball team.

“I think the thing I'd like to share with you about Jimmy Graham is he's not only a big and fast guy, but he's a tremendously competitive athlete,” Malone said. “I think that key ingredient separates him. There are a lot of big athletes out there that aren't successful for one reason or another. What Jimmy has is he wants to be the best, he yearns to play at the top of the game, and he's willing to work for it.

“He doesn't have a whole lot of football in his background, and it really hasn't been a negative because he's so willing to learn and so willing to listen. And he has a great mentor in David Thomas, who was with New England for the first part of his career, and of course Drew Brees.

“My advice to Jimmy was you can certainly listen to me, but you need to listen to Drew Brees because he is going to tell you exactly where you need to be and when you need to be there.”

Vollmer back in businessSebastian Vollmer sat out all of training camp and nearly all of the preseason while making his way back from offseason back surgery. He split duties at right tackle with Marcus Cannon for the first two games, but has been a full-time starter since.

“It wasn't my first training camp, so I was familiar with the scheme,” Vollmer said last week. “You shake off the rust and kind of roll with it. I think I'm feeling pretty good at this point.”

Um, yeah.

The 6-foot-8, 320-pound German made a number of media-selected midseason all-star teams after allowing just one sack in the first eight games.

“Individually we're all working to get the team better,” Vollmer said, deftly deflecting any praise. “Personally, I feel like I'll see how that goes.”

Vollmer was the fourth and final second-round selection the Patriots made in 2009, following safety Patrick Chung, defensive lineman Ron Brace and cornerback Darius Butler. He was considered the most unpolished of the group, but has been an effective starter since day one.

Vollmer is making $675,000 this season, the last of his four-year rookie deal. He's slated to become an unrestricted free agent come February and will undoubtedly receive a hefty raise, be it in New England or elsewhere.

Quick hits, numbers
Some quick hits and (hopefully) useful numbers with regard to this week's games: The last three season series between the Panthers (2009, '11) and Buccaneers ('10) have been sweeps. The Bucs won the first meeting this season, 16-10, in Week 1. The Buccaneers have scored 28-plus points in five straight games. The Panthers are 0-5 in games decided by seven points or less. … The Packers have won 12 of the past 13 meetings with the Lions, although three of the past four games have been decided by four points or less. … The Texans have won three straight against the Jaguars, by 17, 10 and 7 points. … The Cowboys are 1-2 at home where quarterback Tony Romo has thrown two TDs and 10 interceptions. … The Eagles have won five of the past six meetings with the Redskins. … The Chargers have won three straight and five of six at Denver. … The Steelers and Ravens have split their last eight meetings. Seven of their last 10 meetings were decided by four points or less. The Steelers are 39-10 at home since 2007. Teams on the bye: Minnesota, New York Giants, Seattle, Tennessee. And how those coming off it have historically fared: Arizona (10-13, .435), Cleveland (6-18-1, .283), Green Bay (14-9, .609), Washington (11-12, .478).

Fourth and One
Some random thoughts in no particular order:

•Today marks the 200th consecutive home sellout for the Patriots, playoff games included, a streak that dates to 1994. For those of us who were there in the '70s and '80s, it's truly remarkable.

•That said, New England is nowhere near the football town that Green Bay, Pittsburgh, Denver and, ugh, New York are. Not when fans continually yell “sit down” as opposed to “de-fense.”

•The Dolphins have lost three straight since I pegged them to make the playoffs. Oops. The Browns are 2-2 since I considered the possibility of Cleveland going winless.

•Curly's Pub at Lambeau Field is now offering the “Lambeau Heap,” a barbecue-bacon-curd burger that weighs a pound and is topped with friend onion strings. Wonder if they deliver.

•A stick salute to the Oakmont field hockey team for returning to the Division 2 state final. The Spartans have gone 31-2-10 over the last two seasons.